Stock Market Update

Equity futures are little changed this morning as the market prepares for what could easily be the most catalyst-driven session of the week. Investors will receive a full slate of economic data this morning, featuring the Personal Income and Spending report for July, which includes the PCE Price Index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. Currently, the CME FedWatch tool shows a 36% chance of a 25 basis point rate hike at the September FOMC meeting.

Stocks are coming off a winning session, boosted by strength in semiconductor stocks. NVIDIA (NVDA 2121.90, -0.15, -0.0%) was among the winners ahead of its earnings report after the close this afternoon.

Elsewhere, crude oil continues to move lower, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling allies that "for the time being" the U.S. is not expected to initiate new strikes against Iran, according to Axios.

In corporate news:

• Intuit (INTU 324.35, -33.46, -9.4%) beat EPS expectations by $0.45, beat revenue expectations, guided OctQ EPS and revenues below consensus, and guided FY27 EPS and revenues below consensus.
• Meta Platforms (META 578.20, +8.15, +1.4%) is discussing with state Attorney Generals a mid-trial settlement in a teen social media addiction case, according to Bloomberg.
• SoftBank (SFTBY) is mulling a $10-20 billion bond sale to finance a stake in OpenAI, according to Bloomberg.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the midweek session on a mostly higher note, though gains were limited to no more than 1.0%. Japan's Nikkei: +0.6%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +0.6%, China's Shanghai Composite: +0.6%, India's Sensex: -0.2%, South Korea's Kospi: +1.0%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -0.4%.

In news:

• Japan's Corporate Services Price Index grew 3.6% yr/yr, representing the fastest pace of increase since early 2015, while Australia's July CPI decelerated to 3.5% yr/yr from 3.8% against expectations for a bigger slowdown.
• Bank of Japan Governor Ueda will not attend the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.
• Policymaker Tamura, who is a known hawk, will represent the BoJ at the upcoming meeting.

In economic data: 

• Japan's July Corporate Services Price Index 3.6% yr/yr (expected 3.2%; last 3.4%)
• Australia's July MI Leading Index 0.0% m/m (last 0.1%), July CPI 3.5% yr/yr (expected 3.3%; last 3.8%), and Q2 Construction Work Done -2.1% qtr/qtr (expected 0.5%; last 4.3%)
• Singapore's July Industrial Production 2.3% m/m (expected 3.0%; last -7.0%); 6.8% yr/yr (expected 6.7%: last 7.5%)

Major European indices trade near their flat lines while France's CAC (+0.4%) outperforms slightly with leadership from ArcelorMittal and some industrial names. STOXX Europe 600: +0.1%, Germany's DAX: +0.1%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: -0.2%, France's CAC 40: +0.4%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.2%, Spain's IBEX 35: +0.3%.

In news: 

• Expectations for a September rate hike from the ECB are solidifying, but additional increases are not expected at this time.
• ECB policymaker Schnabel said that rates must rise with the extent of the increase determined by data.
• Softwareone has climbed more than 10% after reporting strong results for the first half of the year.

In economic data:

• U.K.'s August CBI Distributive Trades Survey -48 (expected -35; last -26)
• Swiss August ZEW Expectations 12.1 (last 10.0)